Customer Reviews

Channel Zero

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

CHANNEL ZERO is what happens when people pay attention.

When Brian Wood eyes the world around him he recognizes something is wrong, and rather than sit back on his arse and watch the rear-inclined, Orwellian propaganda machine gallop and trample the forgotten soul of America he calls us on it. He flips off the holier than thou Right Wingers, and gives a much needed elixir to those inflicted with the fastest growing disease in America: Complacence.

Brian Wood's Channel Zero combines a gripping speculative flair with a hard edged present-day social commentary that acts as a mirror for the rotting, backward contemporary culture. And rather than stop there, he dares us to move forward and embrace a different kind of America.

It isn't pretty, it isn't flashy, and it most certainly is not sugar coated, feel-good fare; there's too much of that already littering bookshelves everywhere - and CZ is the scolding for it! But if you're looking for a literate, smart, unapologetic graphic novel, look no further, because CHANNEL ZERO is a phenomenal work by the most important comics writer to come along in quite some time. Brian Wood is a pill for the conscience.

Channel Zero is the tale of a New York art student living in the midst of change for the worse in America. New laws and fears have brought about change in society and leave our bill of rights in bloody tatters on the ground. While many sit down and revel in their safety, protagonist Jennie 2.5 decides to do something about it. Through truly groundbreaking design/comic art, author/artist Brian Wood dumps us off with Jennie as she puts her propaganda plan to wake up the masses into full throttle, only to find out that she's probably in over her head and not necessarily as free of America's faults as she thinks she is.

In addition to Jennie, cameos of other people from other angles are shown throughout the book. Whether in one page bios introducing characters that would be used in future B. Wood comics, or in mini stories, such as that of the activist-assassinating "cleaner" that is only doing her job, Brian weaves a whole world for us to look into that, while primitive at times, is still real enough to scare the hell out of us.

The greatest part of Channel Zero, though, is not it's art, or even it's story. It is it's fallout. Published in comic form back in the 1990s, and in graphic novel for the first time in 2000, this book is a pre-9/11 look into the post-9/11 world. With an oppressive "Clean Act" that is terribly remniscent of the USA PATRIOT Act of the real world, it was as if Brian was trying to warn us of the coming socio-political onslaught.

It's never too late to start listening.

CHANNEL ZERO is what happens when people pay attention. is an awesome whiz bang graphic novel i love it alot

Channel Zero. Just the sound of it implies a stark, near-futuristic theme, much like the themes in V for Vendetta. It also has an implication of media. This is certainly true as the premise of Brian's first ever graphic novel is about how media can be an extremely powerful tool for propaganda. Often times, the information given forth by media can and will affect how whole communities think. Also, it touches upon censorship and the subject of free speech in America.

Any of these things sound deep and complex? It is. It is deep and complex. It has so many political and social references to our current and future times that at the end of it all you will feel overwhelmed. The amount of information in this one is huge and you will find yourself having alot to digest along the way. Is this good or bad? To be honest, I have no idea. It touches on so many things that I'm not entirely sure what Brian was going for. Is it about censorship? Yes. Is it about consumerism? Yes. It is so many things and it feels pulled in too many directions, idea wise.

It all revolves around The Clean Act, which supposedly has killed freedom of expression and has caused America to become a sort of pseudo-communist country in which the government certainly knows best. So, no free speech and the things which were deemed 'unholy' by the higher powers are outlawed.

But as you know, the moment the government tries to stamp down on the people, the people start to fight back. In a sense, Jennie 2.5, a self styled media activist, was the one Brian has 'chosen' to represent them. The one who decided to do something, the radical.

The conflict establishes itself. The basic, age old idea of the people VS the government.

Take those ideas, make it as 'techy' and sophisticated as possible, that's what Channel Zero is. Brian has this very cool (sometimes too cool for its own good) style which lulls you into a semi-hypnotic techno geek journey down whatever spiral he spins out of his twisted mind. That's who Brian is, apparently.

If for nothing else other than being thrown head first into an array of political rants, read this book. I bet you will find yourself learning more about the society around you, even though, sometimes, the plot may leave you scratching your head.

Awsome book, interesting concept and designed really. I would reccommend this book to anyone who loves Brian Wood and other dystopic literature!!

Channel Zero is a graphic novel for people interested in anti-establishment revolutions and propoganda.
Channel Zero is a graphic novel for people who want to see graphic design given just as much importance if not more than illustration in comics.
Channel Zero is a graphic novel for people who want something to believe in.
Channel Zero is a graphic novel for people.

On its own, just going by the basic plot, Channel Zero wouldn't be too impressive. Sure it's an interestingly told tale of an America not too far in the future where the government controls the media and a "Clean Act" keeps everyone in line while saying it's "for their own good", which the people, being apathetic sheep, timidly go along with. Like I said, nothing too revolutionary here. But it's Wood's style that brings this story to life, his stark black and white drawings, seemingly carved on the page, jagged and angular characters, buildings that are both looming and out of focus, images that come across as grainy photographs from not too distant Hell. This future America comes to life in the form of his angry drawings and it does a better job than any series of pristine photographs ever could. Wood's graphic sense and style set the book apart from just about anything else out there and it's worth reading just for that. The story itself is entertaining, like I said, as Jennie 2.5 seeks to bring revolution to the masses and stop the government's oppression of the people. But he picks easy targets (the Christian Right? the media? try to be a little original at least) and the reader has to buy the assumption that all of the bad things occur because the populace is too numb to care and too apathetic to bother to correct it, the believability of which probably depends on how cynical you are. The plot tends to float around and not all that much really seems to happen, other than Jennie herself there aren't many strong characters, though I do like how Jennie is not a total role model, she's abrasive and elitist, saying that on the one hand the US government is wrong but that a country like China can do whatever it wants to its people because it's "their business" which can come across as a little sanctimonious and self-righteous, but then a good radical needs those qualities anyway. But honestly, all the revolutionary screaming and rhetorical posturing takes a back seat to the images themselves and long after the meat of the story has faded, Wood's terrifying, angry drawings will be what remains with you. Those, better than anything else, convey what he's actually trying to say.

Finaly, someone who knows what graphic novels are for! Brian Wood is a true master of his medium. Channel Zero is a grity, dark, hard look at censorship in America. As it is and how it could be. Near-futurism has never looked so possible. An excellent work of art!

You don't really read Channel Zero -- you sort of immerse yourself in it and experience it. Brian Wood's book is about New York City in an America that has decided that freedom of speech just isn't worth it anymore -- a law called the Clean Act censors all news and all entertainment in order to preserve an image of America as a noble, Christian nation. Various forms of resistance have cropped up, and Channel Zero follows some of them, particularly the efforts of pirate broadcaster Jennie 2.5.
If you're looking for a straightforward narrative, this is not the book for you. The book jumps around, and often there's only a tangential connection between the narration and the action being drawn on the page. Like I said, though, this is a book you experience -- thematically, it's all tied together. The action, drawn in stark black-and-white with heavy inks and think lines, amplifies the narration. Snippets of broadcasts -- both those from outside American borders and those that have been scrubbed by the Clean Act -- illustrate the depths to which America has sunk. And as the book draws to a close, Wood uses an interview with Jennie, and Jennie's reaction to her notoriety, to demonstrate how easy it is for a revolutionary message to be co-opted by the mainstream.

The real genius of this book is in its design. The black-and-white art is blended with black-and-white photo (or at least photo-like) images of cameras, guns, subway signs, traffic signs, bank logos and other objects -- the realism of the images, blended with the more abstracted illustrations, actually creates a surrealism that draws you into the distorted environment Wood has created. (I doubt I'm reading too much into the physical similarity between the camera and the rifle that keep making appearances, but maybe I am.) Small slogans like "Progress backwards" and "Bomb the system" are buried throughout the book -- little snippets of anti-propaganda propaganda. There are pamphlets and ads that you're encouraged to photocopy and distribute, promoting Channel Zero and its fight-the-power message. It's the artistic/visual equivalent of the barrage of ideas Grant Morrison presents in The Invisibles, and it's just really cool.

After reading this I walked away with the feeling that creator Brian Wood was more interested in creating a world for a reader to visit rather than telling a standard linear story. And that's just fine with me.